Hilton Honors | travelammo

Honors is the Hilton groups loyalty program through which members can earn and collect points redeemable against stays at almost any property within Hilton Worldwide portfolio including Waldorf-Astoria, Curio, Conrad, Hilton Garden inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and more. As members stay and spend there is the opportunity to move up through four loyalty levels, each of which offers more benefits and increased rewards and perks which can include room upgrades.

The Hilton Honors reward program basics:

There are two types of Hilton Honors point, Base points and Bonus Points.
The Program also provides the opportunity to “Double Dip” collecting Airline loyalty points alongside Honors Points.
There are four levels of Hilton Honors membership, Blue, Silver, Gold and Diamond.
Base Points are earned on qualifying spend at a rate of 10 per $1.
Stays and nights will accumulate to help achieve the next level of Hilton Honors Status.

So how to get started with the Honors program:

Membership is as simple a filling in the online membership page and your good to go. You will be issued with your Honors account number and your own log in, through which you need to make all your bookings on which you wish to earn points and stay credit.

What will i earn per stay at a Hilton Worldwide Property with the Hilton Honors program:

Base Points: Assuming you are starting as a Blue Honors member you will earn 10 Honors base points per $1 spend. Spend includes everything that is on your folio at check out. So restaurant spend, mini bar etc, as long as they are added to your room will earn points.

Bonus Points: When registering as a member you will be given the option of collecting whats called Points & Points or Points & Miles. What this means is you can collect either 5 bonus points per $1 spend or 1 or 2 frequent flyer miles. Miles will vary depending on your preferred airline program but as an example choosing British Airways BA Executive club as you airline partner awards 1 Avios per $1.

So assuming you are a Blue Honors member lets do the maths:

You have three nights booked at the hotel or your choice with a total of $500. Whilst on your stay you spend $180 which you add to your room.

Total Folio Spend = $680 x 10 = 6800 Base points.
You choose Points & Points =$680 x 5 = 3400 Bonus Points.
So for this stay you will earn a Total of 10,200 Honors Points.
You will also earn 1 stay and 3 nights towards status.

What are the Honors Status levels and how do i achieve them:

Every one begins as a Blue member from which you will progress through the the “Elite Status ” levels as you earn points, stays and nights.

Silver Status is achieved once you reach either of 4 stays or 10 nights.
Gold Status comes next once you have accumulated either of 20 stays, 40 nights or 75,000 base points.
Diamond Status, the Top tier is achieved once you reach one of the following, 30 stays, 60 nights or 120,000 base points.

To achieve status with Hilton Honors you have to reach the above within a collection year which runs from 1st January through to 31st December. On January 1st the following year you will retain your points but the counters will reset towards status.

What is status Hilton Honors status worth:

Blue Tier Status will get you the following: Guaranteed discount exclusively available to H Honors rewards program members, Digital check-in via the app or online, Express Check-Out, Late check out ( available on request ), Complimentary standard Wifi and your 2nd Guest stays free.
Silver Elite Tier Honors Status will get the above plus: An extra 15% bonus points on base points, 5th night free when redeeming 4 reward nights with points. Complimentary Fitness center access and 2 free bottles of water at most properties.
Gold Tier Honors status gains the following perks on top of all of the above: An extra 25% bonus points on base points, Space available room upgrade at most full service chains, a selection of either Bonus points ranging from 500-1000 depending on property or a complimentary continental breakfast for you and a guest. Breakfast is replaced with refreshments at non full service property’s. Full service hotels generally offer the room upgrades and breakfast. Chains such as Embassy suites award either bonus points or two Snacks/Drinks.
Diamond Honors status will again give you the following on top of all of the above: An extra 50% bonus points on base points, Executive lounge access at properties with executive floors. Increased bonus points of between 250 and 2000 and improved breakfast and snack offerings.

All of these benefits vary by property chain and generally the higher the status of the chain the larger the rewards, but then so will you bill be.

What is a Honors point worth and what can i use it for:

So you have a haul of points and want to redeem some, what can i get you ask. Well as with most loyalty schemes there are various levels to redemption. Hilton operates 10 levels of reward stays starting at 5000-20000 for a level one property per night to 50000-95000 per night for the best of the best like Conrad Rangali Island in the Maldives. Most people would put a monetary value of approximately $0.003 per Honors point. Therefore when redeeming points it is worth comparing the cash rate verses the points rate. Example 20,000 value = $60 so any cash rate above this per night you are getting good value using points. $100 per night rate / 20000 points = value per point of $0.005, better than the minimum of $0.003 we suggest redeeming for.

How long do Honors points and status last for before expiring:

Hilton Honors points will expire if you do not collect or redeem a point within 12 months of the last account activity. Buying points counts as activity as a note.

Elite status is awarded as soon as you reach the requirements of collection of stays, points etc. This will then last for a complete calendar year after the year you achieve the level plus a grace period of three months into the following year. Example, you achieve gold in September 2017. You will be award Gold instantly and it will run through 2018 until march 2019. you will then need to re achieve gold in 2017 to keep it for the rest of 2018 through to march 2019.

More ways to collect HHonors points:

Hilton are often running promotions offering double and triple points, Bonus airline miles and more to help boost your balance. It must be noted these are Bonus points which do not count towards status. There are also credit card sign up bonuses for a range of Hilton credit cards which vary by country of residence.

Other opportunities to Spend Honors Points:

Hilton runs it own HHonors shop where you can use your points to purchase electrical items including I pads, Tablets and Televisions, home-wares, gift vouchers and more. We generally find you will get your $0.003 per point value on most goods available. You can also transfer out your points to selected airline reward schemes although this vary rarely offers good value.

Find out more about HHonors membership rewards at Hilton here.

View our latest articles about Hilton Honors current Promotions:

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